A
guard who works at the palace of the governor of the northern province of
Niassa, Francisca Tomas, died on Friday night in an ambush by armed men against
a truck near the Ruassa river, on the border between Niassa and the
neighbouring province of Cabo Delgado, according to a report in Tuesday’s issue
of the independent newssheet “Carta de Mocambique”.The paper’s sources link the
attack to the islamist insurgency under way in parts of Cabo Delgado since
October 2017. If this connection is true, then this is the furthest west the
terrorists have struck.The truck was carrying merchandise from Niassa to the
port of Pemba, on the Cabo Delgado coast. The vehicle was hit after it had
crossed the river and was heading towards the town of Balama.
This
is the nearest attack so far to Niassa. The administrator of the Niassa
district of Marrupa, Angelina Nguirazi, said she is concerned by the situation
because her district borders on Cabo Delgado. “Carta de Mocambique” says the
Niassa authorities are worried at the possibility that the Cabo Delgado
insurgency will spill over the provincial boundary.Certainly Francisca Tomas
herself believes that the islamists are recruiting youths in Niassa. The
paper’s sources say that in recent rallies in Majune and Mavago districts,
Tomas has warned that “young people from Niassa are dying in Cabo Delgado”.
To
discourage Niassa youth from embarking on such potentially lethal adventures,
campaigns of civil education to dissuade people from joining the terrorist group
are under way in Mecula and Marrupa districts.The insurgents are known in Cabo
Delgado as “Al Shabaab”, although there seems to be no direct connection with
the Somali terrorist group of that name. The group calls itself “Ahlu Sunna
Wa-Jama”. It makes standard jihadist demands for the imposition of Sharia and
for banning the sale of alcohol. Orthodox moslem groups in Cabo Delgado, and
elsewhere in the country, have denounced the group, denying that they are truly
moslems at all. (AIM)
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